Despite all trying, I only managed to write a post right now, roughtly every month. True to myself and this blog, the content is, again, all over the place and this time I want to talk about Chuck Palahniuk.

If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of his books. You might know a story about him, well, Fight Club, rings a bell? Yeah? If you haven’t read one of his books then you should because he has a pretty unique story telling style. The books are often quite disturbing and show the darkness of human psyche.

But his style can get quite repetitive, so if you want to create a book that mimics his style, here’s what you need:

• A catch-phrase. Most of his books have a catch-phrase that gets repeated and varied throughout the book. You might remember “I am Jack’s …” in Fight Club, “See also:” in Choke, “Operative me” in Pygmy. This is funny at first, but after you get it in every book, it does seem kinda forced.

• A fucked up male protagonist. If he’s not male, he’s a transgender. But all main cast has to be deranged in some way. Of course, only this makes the character interesting and you can kind of identify with him because he’s unique. Well, for some strange way of identification at least.

• A plot trist. Maybe a story with a frame story where the actual story is a 300 page flashback. Maybe you learn the protagonist is now what you think he is. Maybe some other mindfuck.

• Some shocking topic, something that might make you sick or throw up. Many of his stories are built up on some terrible trait of humanity that the main character explores, often beuing some kind of outcast. I might say, this is the most enjoyable part, how low can you steep. I think his stories often border on psychological horror, not by showing you violence but much more subtle way that consumes your mind.

This is a critique of some sorts, but in a kind of ambivalent way, since these are the reasons I like his books, and they are usually executed in a spectacular way. I’m having trouble deciding whether to read more of his books.